Graduate Student
[haiku url=”http://blogs.evergreen.edu/a2cmit2014magana/files/2014/10/13-When-You-Wish-Upon-A-Star-1.m4a” title=”Background Music”]
This is the second time in my life that I have been a graduate student. The first time I entered graduate school was at the University of Edinburgh, earning my Masters of Science degree in Creative Writing. The work at the time was challenging, but I wasn’t called upon to complete many assignments. Rather, the bulk of my work entailed reading and independent study. My written assignments resulted in me joining poetry societies in Scotland, meeting up with other poets, and performing slam poetry in cafes, sometimes in competition. I have found that I have learned more through work in the field, than simply remaining in the classroom.
Being a graduate student at the Evergreen State College has demanded much of my time and energy into doing written work and reading myriads of books about the art of teaching. My seminar preparations have enabled me to soak up the readings like a sponge, by integrating them into my own life and analyzing them critically. I have found that I have grown a great deal in the manner in which I complete my work; my first seminar prep is nowhere near as polished, thought-out, or critically sophisticated as my final one, which goes to show how much a person can progress in a manner of eight weeks.
My Synthesis Essay was a challenging piece of written work for me to complete. I have completed three drafts, and have included my second draft in this portfolio. I have also included peer feedback that has helped me rethink and reshape my work. Collaborating with other individuals has also helped me to see others’ work, and consider integrating other ideas and authors into my own writing. The materials from the writers group has further helped me to develop the scope of my writing, and helped me to frame my work and focus on what I wanted to discuss. Thus I find that working within a group helps me to uncover my strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
Finally, I have included resources that have helped me to develop my reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Zotero has helped me with seminar preparations, and has helped me keep the materials for my synthesis paper well-organized. Additionally, participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) has been a way for me to hone my writing, organizational, and discipline skills-especially given that the event demanded a 50,000 word novel within a month; sadly I have only completed a little more than 32,000 words, but I am now 32,000 words a better writer than I was before.
My greatest strength as a graduate student has been my writing skills. Undergoing a program in Edinburgh has definitely helped me, but so has my prior writing experience during my undergraduate study at the University of Southern California, and in high school. Nevertheless, I have grown a great deal as a writer. Through my writing, I have found myself able to reason and engage in professional discussions, such as through my seminar preparation. Writing enables me to word my thoughts and opinions in an appropriate manner, while simultaneously demonstrating my comprehension and argumentative skills. Writing also enables me to frame and analyze the social construction of knowledge within communities and classroom; for instance, my seminar preparation paper on Jean Anyon in Week 7 demonstrates the ways in which I connected Anyon’s work with my prior knowledge of classroom experiences.
Perhaps the area of the program I find most challenging is in participating in discussion. My colleagues have sometimes commented that they wish I could speak more on my opinions, or elaborate more on my thoughts. I have found myself remaining quiet and contemplative during classroom discussions and seminars. Although this enables me to take more notes, I find that sometimes I would like to bring something up in class but feel as though I have inadequate wording, or as though I cannot fully develop my thoughts. I also find it hard to interrupt others and to interject myself into the discussion. I feel that conversational skills will be acquired with practice. I also believe that exercising my word choices and expression of ideas in my writing will help make these skills manifest in my speaking.
Like at Edinburgh, becoming a graduate student is not simply about completing the work asked of me; it extends beyond the classroom and into the community. Becoming a student in this program especially relates to my work as a teacher, given that much of what I read and write will somehow tie in to what I learn and observe in the field. While writing and composing work, and synthesizing much of it into an essay, will help me to connect theories and analyze them, I find that the greatest asset of being a graduate student once again is learning how to use my knowledge in the field to help others, thus becoming a better educator.
Demonstration of resources used to develop reading, writing, and thinking skills
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